Week 5

• Cataloguing


  The process of describing all library materials (books, documents, theses, microforms and other non-print resources) in such a way that the description is meaningful and helpful to library users
• Catalogue


  A record of resources such as books, audio recordings, video recordings, documents, microforms amongst others in a library collection
• Catalogue


  • Records, describes and provides location for each item available in the library collection
  • Provides information such as author, title, edition, imprint, pagination, illustrations, size, series, ISBN, and subject coverage
  • Carries information about the location of the material in the library (call or class mark)
• Library catalogue


  A list or record of materials available in a given library or group of libraries, arranged according to a given order to provide access to the collection
• Functions of library catalogue

  • Educates users about the resources available in the library
  • Helps users make a choice on a book with regard to its edition and other details
  • Assists users to find out whether certain resources are available in the library or not
  • Provides easy accessibility to the library collections
  • Enables users locate a resource if they know either the author, title or subject
  • Shows users all the works by a given author held in the library
  • Provides users information on author, title, imprint, collation, call mark, subject, location
  • Quickly and easily leads users to the location of the needed material by providing the call or class mark
• Characteristics of ideal library catalogue

  • Flexible and easy to update
  • Entries should be easily accessible to users
  • Less expensive to create and maintain
  • Occupies less space
  • Easy to replace
• Forms of library catalogue

  • Book catalogue
  • Card catalogue
  • Dictionary catalogue
  • Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)
• Book catalogue


  Entries for materials in the library are arranged, printed and produced in form of a book
• Advantages of book catalogue

  • Can be used for centralized and cooperative cataloguing
  • Easy to store
  • Occupies less space
  • Can be multiplied, made available and accessible to many readers at the same time
  • Portable, i.e. can be made available for use in different locations in the library
• Disadvantages of book catalogue

  • Expensive to prepare and multiply
  • Not very easy to use, only one client can consult at a time
  • Not flexible, cannot easily update without producing new edition
  • Less durable
  • Wastes time as users have to wait in line to consult
  • Cannot easily remove entries of books weeded from the library
• Card catalogue


  Allows production of a number of cards for each library material, interfiled using various entries (headings) in alphabetical order in drawers, trays or cupboards
• Advantages of card catalogue

  • Flexible, library staff can easily update it
  • People can easily access it at a time using different headings
  • Easy to maintain
  • Not so expensive to acquire
• Disadvantages of card catalogue

  • Not portable, cannot be made available in several locations
  • Requires a lot of labour to prepare and produce
  • Occupies considerably large space
  • Prone to human error - cards can be misfiled
• Dictionary catalogue


  All entries - authors, titles, subjects, and other cards filed in one single alphabetical order
• Advantages of dictionary catalogue

  • Simple and easy to use
  • Filing begins with first letter, easy for users to understand
  • All entries (author, title, subject) filed together in one place
• Disadvantages of dictionary catalogue

  • Many users may not be able to use it at the same time
  • Interfiling of all entries may cause confusion
  • Alphabetical arrangement may separate related topics
• Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)


  An online database of all the resources existing in a library or group of libraries, that users can access to locate books or information
• Advantages of OPAC


  • Flexible and current, can easily be updated
  • Easy to use, can search using combination of terms
  • Can be accessed from any location outside the library
  • Requires very little physical space
• Disadvantages of OPAC


  • May experience mechanical problems
  • Complicated search strategies may produce too many or too few results
  • High initial cost of hardware, software, networking, retrospective conversion
  • Inadequate computer literacy skills among users
• Types of catalogue


  • Dictionary catalogue
  • Divided catalogue
  • Classified or shelf list catalogue
• Dictionary catalogue


  All entries (author, title, subject, series, and other references) are arranged in one single alphabetical order
• Divided catalogue


  Separates the author/title cards from the subject and shelf list cards
• Classified or shelf list catalogue

  Arranged by subject, using the call or class number (notation) according to the classification scheme used in the library, represents the arrangement of books on the shelves
• Approaches to catalogue


  • Author approach
  • Title approach
  • Subject approach
  • Shelf list or classified approach
• The dictionary catalogue is that in which all entries (author, title, subject, series, and other references are arranged like a dictionary) in one single alphabetical order
• The card catalogue is the most common form of catalogue found in libraries and allows production of a number of cards for each library material